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Trip Report - Best of London in 7 Days Tour May 21, 2018

Great trip, fabulous guide (Tom H. - you were a total delight!) who kept us well entertained with England's history. The walking was not all that strenuous but the few times I walked on cobbles I found them to beat up on the bottom of my feet (I wore Clarks Un Cruise Lace). We had a nice group of folks from all over the US. We stayed in a centrally located hotel (great location) with air conditioning and an amazing daily breakfast feast. I eat gluten-free and avoid tomatoes but had no problems. There were lots of good neighborhood restaurants & pubs (lovely cider) and it was easy walking/tubing to theaters and shops. Saw a lot, learned a lot, and had a lot of fun. Enjoyed chatting with locals just about everywhere we went. Stumbled onto a little neighborhood festival and bought a jar of honey made by bees living & foraging in SW12 London. Took £200 with me, came back with £80+; used credit cards just about everywhere. Brought my own ear buds to wear with the Whisper since most ear buds don't work for me.

Flew in and out of Gatwick. Bought tickets for St Pancras International train (about £9.50) at the south airport terminal train station for London, rode down one floor, several minutes later got on the north bound train and about 30 minutes later got off at the St. Pancras station in London which was within walking distance to the hotel. For the 6am return trip to Gatwich, we hired a private car, cost with tip £60 for two people.

Posted by
14730 posts

I had Tom for Best of England and loved him! It sounds like you had a terrific time.

What hotel did you stay in?

Thanks for posting a Trip Report!

Posted by
2252 posts

Tom H. was my guide for Villages South England; he's fabulous! I took the London tour a few years ago and even though I had been to London before, I learned and saw so much I had missed while traveling on my own. Thanks for posting your report and happy to hear you enjoyed your tour. Thanks for the details about Gatwick. It sounds as if it's a lot easier trip to and from London than access to and from Heathrow! I will keep that in mind for future trips to one of my favorite cities.

Posted by
9221 posts

Thanks for posting. Isn’t London a fabulous city to explore. Sounds as though Tom was a great guide to have.

Appreciate the tip about the ease of Gatwick to St Pancras via the train.

Curious as to the name of the hotel used on the tour.

Thanks again. Always pleasant to know posters enjoyed their tour.

Posted by
2510 posts

I enjoyed reading your report, London is one of my favorite cities and I am always thinking of how to manage another trip there!

Posted by
5 posts

RE: Hotel - I will be foxy and just say that we were near the British Museum; there is a nice selection of hotels in that area.

Posted by
5 posts

I will share a list of good eating that was given to me before my trip by a Londoner. I added the comments. I only got to Nopi , for lunch (daily fresh GF menu!)) and Kricket for dinner (downstairs seating, dinner). Both were wonderful and prices very reasonable for the amazing food. We walked in without reservations and at both establishments were offered seating at the bar. Had fun talking to the bartenders and at Nopi we were comp'ed with an a beautiful appetizer.

BAO $ - Soho (Chinese)
53 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AS, England
+44 20 3019 2200

Kricket $$ - Soho (Indian)
12 Denman Street, London W1D 7HH, England
+44 20 7734 5612

Busaba Ethai $$ - Soho (Thai)
106_110 Wardour Street | Soho, London W1F 0TR
+44 20 7291 1111

10 Greek Street $$-$$$
10 Greek Street, London W1D 4DH
+44 20 7734 4677

Nopi (Middle Eastern and Asian) $$-$$$
21-22 Warwick Street, London W1B 5NF
+44 20 7494 9584
- also communal seating area down stairs (basement) with full view of the kitchen and the pantry of produce lining one wall

Posted by
1206 posts

If you won't say which hotel you stayed in, on the tour, does that mean that you did not care for the London Hotel?

Posted by
5 posts

I called the the RS staff (Edmonds, WA) and talked to them. They liked the fact that I am not sharing the name.

Posted by
1022 posts

Thanks for the report. Anymore info would be appreciated. I like the airport and train info. We are doing this trip in may 2019 but have to wait for paris and heart of france to come out . We are doing back to back tours again next year.

Posted by
6527 posts

Kim, I just read the itinerary for the London tour, and it's very different from when we took it in 2015. Looks even better, though!

Posted by
1206 posts

Well, if it is not the Limetree, I am sure most people know of the hotel. There are some excellent hotels in the London guidebook.

Posted by
920 posts

Tom H is the definition of awesome guide. This was one of my favorite RS tours. And yep, they’ve changed up Day 6 since I took the tour.

Posted by
80 posts

db, I stayed in a London hotel that was nice, too. But I will not tell you which one. Stayed in one I did not like also.